It was almost as if he was from another era, from a time when warriors ruled the land, and their cunning and strength determined their survival. Jenny had little doubt that if Jared had lived back then, he would have been a force to be reckoned with.
Who was she kidding? He was one now.
A shiver of apprehension ran through her. Even though she’d only met with him twice, somehow she knew: he was a man accustomed to getting his own way. And right now, Jenny was a roadblock he was determined to move.
Tomorrow, Jennifer.
She shivered again. One way or another, she was going to have to do the impossible. She was going to have to find a way to deter Jared Worth from his path.
She looked once more to her sister and said the only thing she could. “No. He’s nothing like Steven.”
Jared was mad as hell.
Not upset. Or furious. Or even pissed off. He’d passed those markers around three this morning.
Yesterday when he’d given Jenny his ultimatum, he’d known it was his only option. The only way for him to see his investment repaid. But that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. Plus, he’d thought Miss January would cave. When she hadn’t, she’d surprised the hell out of him. Something that didn’t happen all that often, if ever. But if she thought he was going to lie down and accept her terms, she had another think coming. For over fifteen years he’d been intimidating men who outranked, outsized, and flat-out outnumbered him. And he’d always come out on top. If she thought she could bluff her way past him, she was in for one rude awakening.
The conversation he’d had last night with his realtor came back to him, and he all but growled in frustration.
I’ll try to stall and buy you some time, but get the money to me as soon as you can.
That’s not how it was supposed to go last night. Last night was supposed to be about wire transfers. Sealing the deal. Signing on the bottom line. And getting the hell out of this town. Instead, he spent another night in lavender hell cursing the bargain he’d been forced into making. The more he thought on it, the more pissed he got.
Partner. In a tourist-taxing, travel-at-the-speed-of-a-snail, stuck-in-Mayberry, seaplane charter business. Christ.
With more speed than necessary, Jared pulled into Blue Sky a few minutes before seven. The bike’s engine rumbled in the quiet, echoed off the lake. The first thing he saw was that wannabe plane at the end of the dock. The second, the Corvette.
His dark mood went to ugly black in less than a second.
What a goddamn waste of money. His money.
He parked in the same spot he had yesterday. The place was as deserted as a minefield. It was obvious no one was up. No one was working. No wonder there was no money to repay him. How did she think a business could survive—let alone thrive—if the owner didn’t get her delectable little ass out of bed before noon?
Disgusted with the whole situation, he made his way toward the hangar. Briefly he’d toyed with the idea of going to the house and pounding on the door until Sleeping Beauty answered, but he discarded the idea as quickly as it had come. For one reason, he doubted she’d wake up. And second, even he realized he was too pissed-off to face anyone.
From his visit yesterday, he knew the office was located in the far corner of the hangar. His footsteps rang out against the concrete floor as he made his way through the dark, cavernous space. The office was unlocked. Big surprise. Letting himself in, he turned on the lights and looked around.
He swore again. Whatever he’d been expecting, this was far worse.
Boxes, stacks of papers, magazines, and even clothing for Christ’s sake littered the room. The amount of shit was unbelievable. The top of the desk was buried under a mountain of God only knew what. The place was a disaster.
He shook his head. How in the hell did anyone get any work done in this chaos?
They didn’t. That’s how.
Ignoring the mess, he tried to see the office as it could be if it wasn’t one big garbage can. All in all, it wasn’t a bad space: large and bright. An expensive looking L-shaped desk was positioned against the far corner. Above it were two good-sized windows that faced the lake. Even in the muted morning light, the lake was